


Pride and Prejudice and Chocolate

by alchemicink



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP
Genre: Happy Birthday, Love Confessions, M/M, kitchen disasters, not really much of a Pride and Prejudice parody despite the title, valentine's chocolate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 14:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6054946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alchemicink/pseuds/alchemicink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a truth universally acknowledged that Chinen Yuri was completely hopeless in the kitchen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pride and Prejudice and Chocolate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lady_Michiru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Michiru/gifts).



> Written for Micchan's birthday! I asked her for a prompt the other day without telling her what it was for and her response was "chocolate." I was stuck for a bit until I randomly thought about the opening line for Pride and Prejudice. This isn't really much of a parody of the story though. But anyway, enough of me rambling! On with the fic!
> 
> Micchan, I hope you enjoy this! Happy Birthday~!

It was a truth universally acknowledged that Chinen Yuri was completely hopeless in the kitchen. He couldn’t cook. He couldn’t bake. He wasn’t even completely sure he could tell someone the difference between a spatula and a whisk. The problem wasn’t that Chinen _wasn’_ t capable of learning. He considered himself decently intelligent and precise in his actions. 

No, the problem with Chinen was his pride. He simply was too stubborn to let someone else teach him how to cook. Not his mother, not his best friend Yamada, not even the stranger in the series of youtube tutorials Yamada kept relentlessly emailing him. Life was so much simpler, he told himself, if he’d just stick to take-out and microwavable dinners. 

Actually the best thing about not cooking, Chinen had discovered, was that he had an excuse to visit his favorite bakery all the time. He stopped in at least once a week (usually much more) to buy bread and chocolate pastries and to say hello to the bakers. Hikaru was usually busy but Takaki would always stop and chat with him. 

Today, Chinen walked in and went straight to the counter, leaning against it while he waited for Takaki to appear from the kitchen. He could faintly hear the sound of Takaki’s voice caught up in a conversation with Hikaru, so it might be a while before he came to the front. Normally, Chinen’s impatience would send him right out the door to return later, but today he just browsed the shop instead, admiring the scent of baked bread and chocolate mingling together. He paused as he looked over the pastry selection, each one crafted lovingly by Takaki himself. As beautiful as each dessert was, he frowned because it reminded him of his dilemma. 

Valentine’s day was fast approaching and he thought it might be nice to tell Takaki he liked him by giving him chocolate. But if he bought chocolate here, he’d be giving the pastry chef something he made himself, which seemed insulting. And if he bought something from somewhere else… well, that seemed insulting too. Plus it probably wouldn’t be nearly as good. His only option seemed to be make the chocolate himself. 

But he had absolutely no idea how. 

“Good morning!” a voice startled Chinen and he looked up to see Takaki standing on the other side of the counter. His chef’s hat flopped over to the side, exposing some of his nice hair underneath. A touch of flour was splattered on his collar and neck, but he didn’t seem to mind. He flashed a bright smile at his customer. “You thinking about dessert for breakfast today? Again?” 

A warm feeling rushed over Chinen, putting him instantly at ease. He shook his head. “I was just thinking about Valentine’s chocolate actually.” 

Takaki paused ever so slightly while he emptied a tray of fresh pastries into the display case, but then he resumed his task and bright smile as though nothing had happened. “Oh?” he said, “you got someone special to give chocolate to? I can recommend some good ones.” 

“Perhaps,” Chinen nodded. He couldn’t tell Takaki the truth yet. “But actually I was thinking about making it myself.” 

“I could teach you,” Takaki offered with that sunny smile of his which made Chinen always feel so lightheaded that maybe he could just float away if he wasn’t careful. Takaki continued to look cute by casually brushing off some imaginary flour from his apron, apparently having no clue about the real flour on his collar. 

Chinen bit his tongue to keep from blurting out yes. He was not going to admit to a chef that he had no kitchen skills whatsoever. Stubborn pride always getting in the way. “I know how to make chocolate, of course. Simple,” he lied. But he felt like he had to make the lie more believable so he just continued with the next thing that popped in his head. “It’s just that, well, my kitchen is broken.” 

A laugh bubbled up to the surface from Takaki, making his hat slip slightly sideways. “Your kitchen is broken?” 

Chinen felt a bit like an idiot, but damn if he wasn’t going to fully commit to this lie. “Renovations, I mean. Complete overhaul.” He scoffed like he was frustrated even though he knew his kitchen was completely fine, if not a bit dusty from lack of use. “Yeah, it’s taking way longer than expected.” 

“Well if that’s the case,” Takaki began. He had moved on to wrapping a muffin up and packaging it in a cute little box. “You can borrow our kitchen. Come back tonight after we close.” 

“Really??” Chinen felt a weird mix of excitement and nausea. He could spend more time with Takaki but he’d also have to look like he was not completely hopeless too. 

“Just knock on the door. I’ll be here.” Takaki handed Chinen the muffin box even though he’d never actually requested anything today. 

Chinen put on his most confident smile as he placed the money for the muffin on the counter. “I’ll see you tonight then.” He waved as he exited the bakery. He supposed he was going to have to spend the rest of the day marathoning those youtube tutorials so he would look like he knew what he was doing in the kitchen later. 

***

Takaki smiled happily as he watched Chinen leave the store. 

“I thought you said you’d never fall in love with someone who couldn’t cook,” Hikaru said as he brought a tray of fresh bread out of the kitchen. “I seem to remember you being very adamant about this. Multiple times. To the point of snobbery.” 

“Who says he can’t cook?” Takaki answered. 

Hikaru carefully slid the warm rolls into the display shelf. “Nobody who knows how to make their own meals comes into a bakery as much as he does.” He stood back up after he was satisfied everything was in the proper place. “Plus, I know his friend Yamada who told me so himself.” 

Takaki decided not to tell Hikaru that Chinen’s lack of cooking skills didn’t bother him anymore because he realized that the younger guy was cute. Instead, he just hid his frown with a shrug. “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway because I think he likes someone else.” Chinen definitely liked someone if he was going to attempt to make chocolate for that person. And Takaki felt like an idiot because he was willingly going to help him.

***

With a grocery bag of ingredients in hand, Chinen knocked on the back door of the bakery. He thought he had all the necessary ingredients. His afternoon of intense Google searching had given him a list, so he guessed that would be good enough. (He had given up on the youtube videos after a solid two minutes of impatiently watching them.)

The door swung open and Takaki appeared with his usual smile. His hat was still resting on his head, disappointingly covering up most of his pretty hair. The only thing different was that his apron was now coated in a whole layer of flour, complete with smudges of pastry cream fillings from a long day of work. Takaki led him inside and Chinen stopped a moment to look around. He’d never seen the bakery’s kitchen before and it was bigger than he’d expected. It was full of shiny ovens and a multitude of baking pans. Some half-finished Danishes rested on the counter by the sink. The ever present smell of bread hung in the air, giving the room a more homey feeling instead of a business-like one. 

“Welcome,” Takaki said as he spread his arms out. “Make yourself at home.” 

For a moment, Chinen forgot about the daunting task ahead of him and smiled. “Do I get a chef’s hat too?” he joked. 

Takaki took off his own hat and placed it atop Chinen’s head. “Here you go.” He took a step back to observe his handiwork. “It suits you.” 

“Thanks,” Chinen giggled while adjusting it so it didn’t slip down over his eyes. He hadn’t been expecting that, but he couldn’t complain. Now he could see Takaki’s somehow still-perfect hair in all its glory. 

“Use anything you need,” Takaki said with a gesture towards the whole kitchen. “I’ll just be over here finishing this up.” He haphazardly pushed up his sleeves and went back to doing whatever one did to Danishes. 

Chinen’s eyes scanned over the array of kitchen utensils in front of him. Thankfully, he was good at memorizing things, so he at least didn’t have to write down the recipe for the chocolate. That might make him look more competent if he didn’t have to read instructions. But he wasn’t sure which utensils he’d need. Didn’t these guys just have a simple spoon? He scooped up a handful of items and paused as Takaki’s voice called out to him from across the room. 

“Oh, if there’s anything Hikaru labeled not to touch, then don’t use that,” he warned him. “He’s real funny about certain things.” 

“Sure,” Chinen said, flashing an uncertain smile at the baker. With all the various spoons and stuff in his arms, he felt like a bit like a kid with his hand stuck in a cookie jar.

Takaki furrowed his brow. “What do you need a ladle for?” he asked.

“It’s, uh, very fancy chocolate,” Chinen explained as he deposited everything onto the counter. He wasn’t even sure which one _was_ the ladle. Once he was sure Takaki had gone back to work, Chinen grabbed a few pans as well and then spread out his ingredients on the counter. 

Remembering the recipe’s directions, Chinen began—slowly, hesitantly—with the first step. He looked around for some measuring cups to use. The first drawer he opened had a set inside, but they also had a note beside them in what he assumed what Hikaru’s handwriting: _Takaki, if you use my measuring cups inappropriately again, I will bake you into a pie_. And beside that threatening message was a very nicely drawn picture of a fresh-baked pie. Chinen squinted at it for a better look. The shading on the drawing was rather nice. 

“How does one inappropriately use measuring cups?” Chinen wondered out loud. 

Behind him, Takaki laughed until Chinen made eye-contact. Then he looked a bit embarrassed. “To… uh, well… mix fancy alcoholic cocktails…” He cleared his throat and then pointed to the next drawer over. “You can use my set of measuring cups.” 

Once he’d acquired the cups, Chinen turned back to his still-not-really-started chocolate and tried to hide his smile. He was determined now to make chocolate just as sweet as Takaki was. Slowly as he could, he measured out the ingredients precisely and poured them into the bowl. Every now and then, he’d glance over his shoulder to sneak a peek at Takaki. Once, he caught Takaki looking back, but he’d whirled back around so fast that he didn’t have time to react. 

After getting a quarter of the way through the recipe with no mishaps, Chinen was starting to feel a bit confident. The next step involved using a hand mixer to blend everything together. He’d never used a mixer before, but everything else had been good so far. How hard could it be to figure out how to use the contraption? 

_Very hard_ , Chinen quickly decided as chunks of lumpy and powdery chocolate mixture exploded all over his face and clothes and the surrounding counter. He wiped some chocolate off of his face and then realized Takaki was standing beside him, looking amused. He leaned against the counter, giving Chinen a knowing look as if he understood how hopeless Chinen really was at this stuff. 

Chinen didn’t like to be laughed at, so without thinking, he automatically smeared the half-finished chocolate on his hand across Takaki’s face. He reacted with an “oh!” of surprise before flicking a handful of cocoa powder at Chinen. The next few minutes were a blur of all-out food fight accompanied by lots of childish giggles from both sides, until finally breathless and out of ammo, they sank down in the middle of the kitchen in the midst of the mess. Takaki laughed while Chinen just marveled at the amazing fact that Takaki’s hair had managed to remain the only food-free spot on his body. 

“Sorry about the mess?” Chinen apologized sheepishly as he tried to wipe away some bits that were close to his eyes. 

“No worries,” Takaki answered. His cute smile was putting butterflies in Chinen’s stomach. But then Takaki blinked as if he suddenly remembered something and the smile melted away. “Sorry that the chocolate you were making is ruined. I’m sure I’ve got some extra ingredients here. I can make a batch for you.” 

“No!” Chinen exclaimed a bit too loudly. “I mean, I really have to make it myself.” 

Takaki dusted off his apron despite the uselessness of the action. “I really don’t mind,” he said in a quieter, more subdued tone than Chinen had ever heard before. “I’m sure the special someone who this chocolate is for will appreciate your effort and understand.” 

At that moment, Chinen realized that he had been doing everything wrong. He supposed love was a more complicated recipe than chocolate ever was. He shook his head and decided that it was time to finally put away his stupid pride and admit the truth. 

“Let me explain,” Chinen began. “The truth is that I’m absolutely horrible at cooking and baking and all that stuff.” He picked up the closest kitchen utensil, something complicated looking, and held it up for emphasis. “I know nothing about kitchen stuff. I don’t even know what this thing even is.” 

“It’s a can opener,” Takaki said calmly. 

Chinen paused for a moment to take a second look at the complex contraption, but then realized he shouldn’t get distracted. “The point is, I really wanted to make Valentine’s chocolate for the person I really like but he’s an amazing chef and I didn’t want to give him chocolate he made himself.” 

Takaki tilted his head in confusion as he processed what Chinen meant. 

“It’s you,” Chinen blurted out. “I like _you_.” 

Things clicked into place in Takaki’s head and he laughed out loud, leaving Chinen wondering whether that was a good sign or not. 

“That’s a relief because I like you too,” he said once he’d stopped giggling and saw the look on Chinen’s face. 

“Even though I can’t cook?”

Takaki smiled. “This chocolate,” he gestured to the stuff covering his face and clothes, “is the best I’ve ever had.” 

Chinen snorted. “Happy early Valentine’s day then?” He put on his best innocent face. 

Takaki didn’t say anything, but instead leaned forward to press a sweet kiss to Chinen’s lips. It tasted like powdery half-finished chocolate, but Chinen didn’t mind at all. 

Chinen wrapped his arms around Takaki in a hug, suddenly realizing how much of a mess they really made with the kitchen. “We should probably clean up this place before Hikaru threatens to bake both of us into a pie,” Chinen whispered.

“He’ll get over it,” Takaki answered and kissed him again. 

So perhaps, Chinen decided, this kitchen stuff wasn’t too bad after all.


End file.
